Recently, the Chorus hit the streets to find out how Cinniapolitans feel about their birth name’s effect on their mental health. The emergence of mental health has gripped the city and re-wired how people view themselves, and their treatment of others.

We interviewed a local in his 30s named Anderson, but goes by Sonny. “Anderson, to me, always sounded very boring and plain. Growing up, my friends called me Andy, which I liked but there are so many Andys. But, my grandma always called me Sonny. I liked the way it made me feel – loved, energetic, one-of-a-kind. So, I went away to college and decided to go by Sonny and that name has stuck with me. Except my family still calls me Anderson,” Sonny said, with a shrug and a smile.

We also caught up with Angelica, who goes by Angel. “Angelica is very grown up to me. Even now in my 50s, it still seems like an elderly name. I started using the nickname Angel in junior high. It made me feel important, as silly as that might sound. If I had a nickel for every compliment I received about my name being Angel, I’d need a bigger coin purse,” Angel said.

Lastly, we met a local teenager. Mimi, formerly known as Amelia, recently started going by Mimi as a self-empowerment technique. “My parents thought I was too compassionate at the expense of my own success. And that was Amelia in a nutshell, over-caring, over-sympathetic to a point where it was detrimental to my own existence. I’d give my lunch money to the homeless and skip lunch. It wasn’t a healthy lifestyle. My therapist suggested a name change to Mimi as a reminder that I must put myself before others,” she said.

To sum it up, the link between mental health and one’s name is perhaps a distant connection. Attributes, such as names, can have an impact on mental health. But, while one can appreciate the value of a proper name, it takes focus off other factors that weigh more heavily on an individual’s mental health, like access to food and education. This concludes the great name debate, for now.